The concepts of 'ungoverned spaces' and 'failed states' where the limited presence of the state is seen as a challenge to global security have generated a rich intellectual debate in recent years. In this edited volume, scholars from Latin America and the United States will analyze how US foreign policy making circles have applied the concepts to the creation of new US security initiatives in the Latin American region during the post September 11, 2001 era. The extension of concepts to Latin America has been significant because it has meant that during the past thirteen years US policy in the Hemisphere has shifted away from the primarily economic emphasis of the 1990s, the era of the Free Trade Area of the Americas project, back to a security focus reminiscent of the Cold War era. The last decade has witnessed a significant increase in US military presence in the region highlighted by the re-launching of the Caribbean-based Fourth Fleet, the militarization of drug fighting efforts in Mexico, and the establishment of several new military bases in Colombia, the staunchest US ally in the region.

As a young militant in the 26th of July Movement, Esteban Morales Domínguez participated in the overthrow of the Batista regime and the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. The revolutionaries, he understood, sought to establish a more just and egalitarian society. But Morales Dominguez, an Afro-Cuban, knew that the complicated question of race could not be ignored, or simply willed away in a post-revolutionary context. Today, he is one of Cuba's most prominent Afro-Cuban intellectuals and its leading authority on the race question. Available for the first time in English, the essays collected here describe the problem of racial inequality in Cuba, provide evidence of its existence, constructively criticize efforts by the Cuban political leadership to end discrimination, and point to a possible way forward. Morales Dominguez surveys the major advancements in race relations that occurred as a result of the revolution, but does not ignore continuing signs of inequality and discrimination. Instead, he argues that the revolution must be an ongoing process and that to truly transform society it must continue to confront the question of race in Cuba.

In recent years, the simultaneous development of prominent social movements and the election of left and center-left governments has radically altered the political landscape in Latin America. These social movements have ranged from the community based "piqueteros" of Argentina that brought down three governments in the space of a month in 2001 to the indigenous movements in Ecuador and Bolivia that were instrumental in toppling five governments in the last decade. And in the cases of Venezuela and Brazil, social movements helped to provide the political base from which leftist leaders like Hugo Chávez and Lula were swept into power by election. Social Movements and Leftist Governments in Latin America moves beyond simple discussion of these social movements to address an issue that is crucial for politics in the region today but has yet to be properly analyzed - specifically, what is the position of the social movements after progressive governments take power? Are they co-opted in support of government policies or do they remain at arm's length as continuing opponents? How many of the movement's demands are actually met and what happens when the government almost inevitably disappoints its supporters in such movements? This unique and important work explores these questions, shedding new light on how these social movements continue to operate in Latin America.

Following the election of Mauricio Funes to the presidency of El Salvador in 2009, relations between Cuba and Latin America came full circle. El Salvador subsequently restored diplomatic relations with Cuba and was the last country to do so, just months after the fiftieth anniversary of the Cuban revolution. In the wake of these dramatic events, it should be noted that just fifty years ago, all Latin American countries--with the exception of Mexico--severed their formal ties with the island. In 1962, with heavy pressure from the United States, Cuba's membership in the Organization of American States (OAS) was suspended. In May 2009, at an historic OAS meeting in Honduras and against the strong wishes of the United States, the Latin American countries voted unanimously that Cuba should be returned to full membership in the organization. This volume seeks to fill a very significant void in the recently published scholarship in English on Cuba's relationship with Latin America. Cuban foreign policy has received attention over the years, but the bulk of the scholarship has been on its relationship with the United States. That relationship is important and will also be addressed in this book by Esteban Morales Dominguez, who for many years has been Cuba's leading scholar of US-Cuban relations. His most recent book US-Cuban Relations--A Critical History was coauthored with Gary Prevost, a coeditor of this volume. Other important books have focused Cuba's relationship with the superpowers from the Cold War era as well as Cuba's role in Africa. The contributors to this volume have demonstrate conclusively that a decade into the twenty-first century, Cuba has achieved a position in the hemisphere that is far less isolated than at any previous time since the triumph of the Cuban revolution in 1959. That reintegration into hemispheric affairs is evident in many crucial areas like politics, economics, and culture. There is no doubt that Cuba's position in the hemisphere has been bolstered by the leftward direction of Latin American politics. This trend has clearly permitted the development of such new organizations as ALBA and the Bank of the South, but it is not likely that even the return to more conservative governments in the region would risk putting Cuba back into its previous position of relative isolation because once political, economic, and cultural ties are fully established, they become much more difficult to reverse. While the United States might welcome the election of more conservative governments in key countries such as Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela, it is unlikely that Washington, in a multipolar world, would be able to convince key Latin American governments to reverse their policies of full inclusion of Cuba into hemispheric affairs. This is an important volume for all scholars of Latin American politics and for scholars of US foreign policy, especially those focused on US-Cuban relations.

Now in its fourth edition, Politics of Latin America explores both the evolution and the current state of the political scene in Latin America. Distinguishing itself from more traditional works on the subject, this unique text demonstrates a nuanced sensitivity to the use and abuse of power and the importance of social conditions, gender, race, globalization, and political economy throughout Latin America.

The first part of the text is composed of thematic chapters that outline the region's geographic setting, history, economics, society, gender, race, and religion, setting the stage for a more detailed analysis of the politics, democratization, political culture, political movements, and revolution in Latin America. The second part of the book consists of carefully constructed case studies of ten representative Latin American nations: Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. Each case study traces the historical and political development of key actors and institutions, analyzing contemporary power configurations.

FEATURES OF THE FOURTH EDITION:

* Focuses on contemporary developments in the region, especially the election and reelection (from 2002 on) of several progressive governments that provide an alternative to the neoliberal policies of the 1990s

* Analyzes critical new legislative developments, including the legalization of gay marriage in Argentina in 2010

* Updates all tables and charts with the latest census and economic data

* Includes an entirely new chapter (11) on the relationship between the United States and Latin America, which offers an in-depth look at Obama's policies toward the region and places his administration in the context of long-standing themes in this complex relationship

* Restructures, expands, and adds statistical tables to the chapter on democracy and authoritarianism.

At a time when changing the nation's environmental policy is a top presidential priority, with a new global climate change treaty deep in negotiations, and with the country itself weighing the need for action against concerns over too much government regulation, this exhaustive new reference work could not be more welcomed.

Encyclopedia of the U.S. Government and the Environment: History, Policy, and Politics explores the interaction between the federal government and environmental politics and policy throughout the nation's history, from the earliest efforts to preserve lands and regulate pollution to the 1960s emergence of the modern environmental movement, the landmark legislation of the 1970s, and the seesawing back-and-forth of policies between alternating Republican and Democrat administrations of the last three decades. Authoritative, unbiased, and informed by the latest available research, the hundreds of entries cover the full range of issues, events, laws, institutions, and key players that shape federal environmental policies, incorporating viewpoints from across the ideological spectrum.

Latin America: An Introduction offers a contemporary, thematic analysis of the region that is grounded in Latin America's social, political, economic, and cultural past. Based on chapters from Harry Vanden and Gary Prevost's popular text, Politics of Latin America, this book provides an accessible and interesting discussion of a broad range of topics, including democracy, revolution, indigenous populations, culture, gender, religion, politics, economy, and relations with the United States. Unlike many texts on the region, this book places the voices of long-ignored and previously marginalized groups in Latin America--women, indigenous peoples, Afro-Latinos, workers, peasants, and gays and lesbians--at the heart of its analysis. Offering balanced regional coverage, the book discusses such recent political, social, and economic developments as the failure of the neoliberal economic policies of the 1980s and 1990s to deliver promised prosperity; the related resurgence of progressive politics in the region, as manifested in the election of numerous left and center-left governments; and the strong role of numerous social movements in setting the region's political agenda in the new century. The authors analyze the continuing power of the United States in the region, as seen in the implementation of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), bilateral trade agreements with Chile and Peru, and the continued funding of Plan Colombia. They also discuss the role of various Latin American-based initiatives, including the expansion of MERCOSUR, the Bolivarian Alternative, and The Bank of the South. Providing a historical perspective for the challenges and problems facing the region today, Latin America: An Introduction's regionally balanced, multidisciplinary approach makes it an ideal text for introduction to Latin American studies courses.

The Commonwealth countries of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand are the oft-forgotten backwaters of the scholarship of advanced industrial nations. Historically, these three countries have been too politically stable to rouse much international attention. Yet in the last decades of the 20th Century each of these countries endured significant social and political upheaval which resulted in the creation of a neo-populist party. In Australia, the infamous Pauline Hanson rose to prominence in 1996 and won election to national parliament, thereafter forming Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party. In Canada, Preston Manning fractured the conservative party to form the Reform Party, and eventually rode a wave of populist resentment to become opposition leader.In New Zealand, a former cabinet minister - Winston Peters - split from the National Party and created the New Zealand First Party. Virulently anti-globalization and anti-immigrant in message, these parties had enormous impact on the mainstream political agenda in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, and each party has left a political and cultural legacy.

John C. Calhoun may be best known for his stature in the U.S. Senate and his controversial defense of slavery, but he is also a key figure in American political thought. The staunchest advocate of the consensus model of government as an alternative to majority rule, he proposed government not by one, by few, or by many, but by all: each key group enjoying veto rights over collective decisions.

Some consider consensus preferable to majority rule in deeply divided societies, and consensus theory has been advocated in such contemporary works as Lani Guinier's The Tyranny of the Majority.James Read's book, the first historically informed, theoretically sophisticated critique of Calhoun's political thought, goes beyond other studies to ask key questions about the feasibility of consensus. Read critically examines Calhoun's arguments, considering both their antebellum context—including Calhoun's spirited defense of slavery—and modern-day attempts to apply consensus models in Northern Ireland, the former Yugoslavia, and South Africa.

Read sheds new light on the crisis leading up to the Civil War by exploring Calhoun's conviction that his uncompromising defense of slavery would help preserve the Union. He also juxtaposes Calhoun's thought with that of Jefferson and Madison, whose legacies Calhoun invoked to support his claim that states had the right to nullify federal law, and he contrasts Madison's ultimate faith in majority rule with Calhoun's ultimate rejection of it.

Read argues that, although Calhoun's critique of majority rule deserves careful attention, his remedy is unworkable and in the end unjust. Read demonstrates that governments ruled by consensustend to be ineffective, that they are better at preventing common action than achieving common goods, and that they privilege strategically placed minorities rather than producing genuine consensus.

Majority Rule versus Consensusis a provocative work that sheds new light on the promise and limitations of democracy, showing that, despite the failure of Calhoun's remedy, his diagnosis of the potential injustice of majority rule must be taken seriously. It discourages uncritical celebrations of democracy in favor of reflection on how committed democrats can better address the problems that Calhoun attempted to solve.

United States-Cuban Relations breaks new ground in its treatment of this long and tumultuous relationship. The overall approach, mirroring the political science background of both authors, does not focus on historical detail that has been provided by many other works, but rather on a broad analysis of trends and patterns that have marked the long relationship between the two countries. Dominguez and Prevost argue that U.S. policy toward Cuba is driven in significant measure by developments on the ground in Cuba. From the U.S. intervention at the time of the Cuban Independence War to the most recent revisions of U.S. policy in the wake of the Powell Commission, the authors demonstrate how U.S. policy adjusts to developments and perceived reality on the island. The final chapters of the book focus on the contemporary period, with particular emphasis on the changing dynamic toward Cuba from U.S. civil society. Dominguez and Prevost describe how the U.S. business community, fearful of being isolated from Cuba's reinsertion in the world's capitalist markets, have united with long-standing opponents of the U.S. embargo to win the right to sell food and medicines to Cuba over the last four years. Ultimately, the authors are realists about the possibility of better relations between the U.S. and Cuba, pointing out that, short of the collapse of Cuba's current political and economic system, fundamental change in U.S. policy toward the island is unlikely in the immediate future.

Environmental degradation and the compromised integrity of the earth's ecological system were growing public concerns in the mid to late 1960s. These issues spurred Congress to pass the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the first law to focus such environmental concerns into a comprehensive national policy. The new legislation encompassed an array of environmental values and ethics, as well as administrative tools to achieve the ecological goals of the nation while taking into account other important societal needs. Though NEPA has had a positive effect on U.S. environmental policy and the national quality of life, this challenging new book shows how federal courts and agencies have failed to implement many of the values and goals fundamental to the success of NEPA. To explain this divergence, authors Matthew J. Lindstrom and Zachary A. Smith examine NEPA's origins, address how NEPA has been implemented and enforced, and highlight the shortcomings of its practice. Lindstrom and Smith strongly argue that if NEPA were fully and properly implemented, it would prove to be a valuable and realistic tool for balancing the needs of the world population and the protection of the earth's environment. They offer a new, hopeful look at how the law's structure can be properly utilized in order to give future generations hope of living on a sustainable planet. This book is well suited for audiences interested in public policy formation and implementation, especially environmental policy administrators, environmental historians, and those involved in environmental law, its policy, and its politics.

The famous Tip O'Neill axiom "all politics is local" comes alive in this chronicle of Democrat James H. Read's hard-fought but unsuccessful (by 98 votes) bid for state legislature in the socially conservative communities of Stearns and Morrison counties in Minnesota. Read door-knocked 7500 households during his campaign, visiting voters and engaging in genuine dialogue on doorsteps from St. Anthony to St. Joseph.

At once a memoir of a hard-fought contest and a meditation on the state of American democracy, Doorstep Democracy shows the power and importance of kitchen-table politics-people sitting down together to tackle the issues that affect us-and proves that voters and candidates can be convinced to change their minds. Read ultimately demonstrates how conversations between citizens concerned about their communities can get us beyond the television ads, mass mailings, and sound bites to rejuvenate American democracy.

This volume is a series of original articles analyzing eleven case studies of revolutionary movements which have reconstituted themselves into formal political parties now contesting electoral politics. These case studies are drawn from Africa and the Americas and examined within the context of the democratic transitions which have taken place in the developing world. The book's principal objective is to analyze the factors influencing the successes and failures of these former politico-military movements within this new context of democracy and electoralism.

In the wake of the events of September 11, 2001 the government of George W. Bush has articulated a new strategy for U.S. foreign policy that has come to be known as the Bush Doctrine, and is based on a more aggressive approach to perceived threats to U.S. security. This book analyzes how the application of the Bush Doctrine in Latin America has changed U.S. policy in the region. Various authors demonstrate how security issues, never absent from hemispheric relations, have again moved to the forefront.

A comprehensive, multi-disciplinary analysis of suburban sprawl development and smart growth alternatives within the contexts of culture, ecology, and politics. It offers a mix of theoretical inquiry, historical analysis, policy critique, and case studies, written by academics and practitioners from around the world. In addition, each chapter is coupled with featured interviews with leading activists and policymakers working on sprawl issues.

In this edited volume fourteen scholars, mostly from Latin America, analyze the current state of relations between North America and Latin America in a number of sectors--economic, security, politics, and the environment. Particular attention is paid to processes of economic integration that dominated political discussions during the decade of the 1990s – North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), MERCOSUR, the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). Because most of the scholars are from Latin America, the book has a perspective that is often lacking in books on similar scholars written almost exclusively by scholars from the U.S.

Does every increase in the power of government entail a loss of liberty for the people? James H. Read examines how four key Founders--James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Wilson, and Thomas Jefferson--wrestled with this question during the first two decades of the American Republic.

Power versus Liberty reconstructs a four-way conversation--sometimes respectful, sometimes shrill--that touched on the most important issues facing the new nation: the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, federal authority versus states' rights, freedom of the press, the controversial Bank of the United States, the relation between nationalism and democracy, and the elusive meaning of "the consent of the governed."

This book explores the impact of Sandinista electoral defeat and the U.S. backed Chamorro administration on the gains of the Nicaraguan revolution. Through a series of essays based on current research, seven experts on contemporary Nicaragua draw a balance sheet on the gains of the Revolution and assess the current status of the revolutionary process. The Revolution brought dramatic social, economic and political changes to Nicaragua in the 1980s, but in the wake of the electoral defeat of the FSLN in 1990, the revolution struggled to survive in the face of challenges from the Chamorro administration, the U.S. government, and the International Monetary Fund. Significant efforts to protect the revolution's achievements have been mounted, especially in grassroots organizing and by women's organizations.

Moving beyond Cold War rhetoric and stereotypical views of Third World Marxism, the authors convincingly argue that the democratic tradition and practice that was emerging in socialist Nicaragua could well serve as a model for other Third World states. They analyze concepts of democracy and the ideology of the FSLN and show that the Sandinista movement is not in any way stock Marxist-Leninism. Instead, this nationalist variant of Third World Marxism is—like most others—a function of indigenous realities.

Vanden and Prevost demonstrate that Nicaragua has seen the establishment of at least three different forms of democracy: popular, participatory democracy (manifested in mass organizations); Western-style representative democracy (as seen in the 1984 and 1990 elections and the resultant governmental structure); and Leninist vanguardism (shown in the functioning of the FSLN itself). After showing why participatory democracy did not triumph, they conclude with an assessment of the 1990 elections and their impact on the future of democracy in Nicaragua.

Four experts on the Nicaraguan political system examine the causes and consequences of the striking defeat of the Sandinista National Liberation Front in the 1990 Nicaraguan democratic election. Using extensive survey data, the contributors detail a variety of circumstances, beyond the strong influence of U.S. military and diplomatic interest, that led to the victory of counter-revolutionary forces in Nicaragua.

This well-balanced and objective work attempts to present the reality of contemporary Cuban life, particularly the social progress that the Cuban government has made over the past quarter-century. All the authors, who are from various backgrounds and have a wide range of expertise, have visited Cuba and investigated particular aspects of Cuban society.

Focusing on coalitional decision-making, this book explains the political effects of the transformation of the Spanish regime to a constitutional monarchy following General Franco's death in 1975. Some of the questions which this volume raises are: What happened to the old coalition members? What is their role in the new regime? Do they influence the direction of Spanish democracy? If not, why not? What have been the consequences of any coalitional realignment? Which new coalition members are facilitating change and which are preventing change?